Twilight and Dawn
by Pocru
Summary: As Issun enters the twilight of his life, a realization dawns on Ammy. IssunXAmmy, and ABOUT TIME, I may add!


Disclaimer: If I owned Okami, there'd be a sequel out by now.

Authors note: Well, Normally I stuck with Mario fanfics, because he's my favorite character. But Okami is my favorite game. And I was browsing the Okami fanfics, and I noticed something, to my horror: There were ABSOLUTELY NO AMMYXISSUNE FANFICS! That is NOT right. I have to fix that right now. So here I go!

* * *

Gods lived forever. That was a fact that everyone knew, from the smallest child to the oldest man. The gift of eternal life was a reserved only for those with divine blood, the rest, no matter how magical or powerful, died with age and disease. It was a fact of life. A undeniable truth. But isn't it ironic that the only being that tries to deny this fact is a goddess?

That was the case, in this instance.

"He'll be fine." She whispered, reasoning with herself, gazing down over the bedridden artist from her place in the heavens. "He's a tough bug, he'll muscle past this. He's survived worse."

She was the sun, and she could see all that the sun could see. She was the sun, and she could hear all the sun could hear. She was the sun, and she warmed all the hearts the sun could warm. So it wasn't hard for her for, all these years, to cast occasional glances down at her old partner, Issun, to make sure he was doing well. And all these years, he had been fine, spreading her faith around the population of Nippon. But like the sun always sets, the messenger of the sun was in his twilight, it seemed: it was evident to everyone around him that he was about to die.

…well, everyone except one goddess in denial.

The other sprites in the village would often whisper about his condition.

"I hear its gotten worse, he's coughing up blood, I hear."

"Its so bad, he's always moaning at night about somethin' or another."

"Oh, he's about to die. I question it not!"

She laughed at all these words.

"They don't know him very well!" The mother would chuckle, "He's still in his prime. He's just pulling their legs for sympathy. Wants the girls to morn him, that weasel."

But while gods may be the rocks of the world, ever lasting and eternal, even rocks could be worn down by wind and rain. As time past and the goddess kept vigilant watch over the sprite, the evidence started to pile against her outlandish claims of his health. When questioned, she would laugh it off, saying she was merely wasting time until something more important came along, but in reality, it was consuming her. Prayer's for rain were ignored. Cries for sunlight were pushed aside. Wishes for wind were neglected.

All her attention was focused on the fading life of her old partner.

She wasted time away, remember better times in the land of mortals. The laughter. The tears. The pain. But through it all, she remembered the simple contentment. The knowledge that she was never alone, and that she always had Issun, was enough for her then. It was the uncomplicated joy she felt in his presence that made her act like a happy dog.

She didn't have that anymore… often she yearned to return to Nippon, not only to bask in all her works, and to meet with her friends, but also… to see him again. Sure, he was small in statue, but overabundant with spirit, and that's what made her… that's what made her…

…but no. she never could return. She had to stay here, in the celestial realm. It was her duty as a goddess, as the sun, to simply watch over the world and protect it from the vast darkness of the universe around it. But now, as she watched the final moments of her loving companion, she felt a large, pounding regret inside her heart… realizing that the main reason…

…no… the ONLY reason…

…she ever wanted to return to the world was slowly slipping away.

No. Not like this. She refused to let him die without meeting him again.

One last time.

Throwing caution to the wind, and responsibility to her divine children, she entered her mortal form, that of a powerful wolf with soft, virgin snow fur, and undertook a voyage to the world of man one last time. Once her body graced the land, she raced, ran faster than the swiftest gales, in the direction of her beloved companion. Darting past everyone on the road, her mind was set only on one place. One person.

…One emotion.

She reached the stump, her feet sore from constant motion, her lungs nearly empty from lack of air, her heart nearly stopped from overwork and overstress. The hammer was still there, bouncing loyally, awaiting her arrival: thank god for that, the god proclaimed. Taking advantage of the mallets powers, she shrunk to his size and raced inside the village, darting past sprite-folk, ignoring their surprised calls and friendly waves.

She reached his house.

Taking things slowly for the first time sense she appeared in the mortal world in her mortal form, she slowly opened the doors to his home and peered in. Inside, she could hear a pained cry from the bed.

"What? Who… who is it?"

He must have been delusional with illness, for he could not recognize her. She walked in, her soft paws barely making a sound as they treaded over layers of paper that were lying on the ground, carelessly tossed aside by their creator. All of them were illustrations of wolves.

Carefully, she stepped over to him and nuzzled into his cheek, as to show him who she was. Upon feeling her fur, he gently grabbed her cheek and started to stroke it.

"A… Ammy? Is that… you? After so long… I… I never expected to see you."

She let out a small yip and gently licked his cheek. It was all she could do. She had to choke the words she could never speak to him down. All the things she wanted to say, she was forced to silence. It was a small price to pay to see him for one last time.

"You… know this… I don't have much time… it… its why you're here."

She saw his eyes, they were closed, but stained from tears and illness.

"I… I always liked… to pretend you would visit me… from heaven… before I got sick… I waited for you… even though I knew… I would never see you again." He nuzzled into her cheek, barely able to speak now, his voice was rough and tired. She let out another yip, and tears started to form in her eyes.

…no… this couldn't be it.

"I… I'm so happy I got to… see you… for one… last… time…" he coughed pathetically and weakly, "but… I don't have much… left in me…"

Her tears flowed, coming out of her black eyes into her soft fur, staining it with salt and water: the tears of a god and the tears of a mortal were surprisingly similar.

"…but before… I go… I want to… to tell you something…"

She leaned in, next to his lips, her tears now staining his cheeks as well as her fur. She wanted to hear this. She needed to hear this. It would be the last thing she would ever hear from her partner. Her friend. The only person to make her truly happy.

"…I… I…"

She closed her eyes, leaning on his body, feeling so powerless: the fact she was a goddess, the mother of all, meant nothing to her: if she couldn't stop his death, she was worthless… she… was going to lose the one man…

…she ever loved.

"…Totally just owned you."

…what?

His arms shot out from under his blanket and wrapped around her furry neck and pulled her close. The artist sat up in his bed and embraced the wolf-goddess tightly. She was in shock, unable to do anything, as Issun started to laugh, loudly.

"I KNEW I could get you down here! I knew I could trick the great goddess of furballs! Heh heh, admit it, your in awe!"

She was dumbstruck. He released his hug and moved his head away, so he could look into her wolf eyes, a huge, cocky grin on his face.

"I knew that you would never visit me unless I gave ya' a little push. So I faked a illness! I got everyone in the village to play along!"

She finally composed herself. It was all… an act? Just to get her to visit him?

"You know, if you just came down here every once in a while and gave your good buddy Issun a visit every now and again, I wouldn't have to feign death."

She should have been enraged. This pompous sprite made her worry her head off, made her abandon her post in the heavens, Ignore the cries of the destitute and poor, threaten the security of the whole world, made her endure this wolf form again, AND confess her love for him, ALL so he could just see her again?

She should have torn his throat out.

…yes, that's what she should of done. But instead, she simply tacked him to the ground and licked his face off.

Yes, gods live forever. Mortals do not. Gods have world-shaking power, and mortals could only be wisped along by the whim of the divine. Yet, gods and mortals were surprisingly similar: Both could be tricked, both could be irrational…

…and both could fall in love.


End file.
